Connectionists: [jobs] 4 available PhD positions in Bioengineering and Robotics @ Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT)

[Francesco Rea]

4 available PhD positions in Bioengineering and Robotics @ Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT)
In the spirit of the doctoral School on Bioengineering and Robotics the PhD Program for the curriculum "Cognitive Robotics, Interaction and Rehabilitation Technologies" (https://biorob.phd.unige.it/sites/biorob.phd.unige.it/files/2025-06/PhD%20themes%2041_Cognitive.pdf)  provides interdisciplinary training at the interface between technology and life-sciences. The CONTACT Research Line is coordinated by Alessandra Sciutti, who has extensive experience in Cognitive Architecture for Human Robot Interaction.
Application Procedure: The 2025 Doctorate First Call will close on July 9th 2025 at 12 noon (CEST)". (https://biorob.phd.unige.it/how-to-apply)
FOR MORE DETAILS VISIT THE PHD WEBSITE OF UNIGE: https://unige.it/en/students/phd-programmes
FOR MORE DETAILS VISIT THE RESEARCH GROUP IN IIT: https://contact.iit.it/openings
1) Memory-based Cognitive Architecture for Human Robot Interaction; Tutors: Dr. Alessandra Sciutti, Dr. Francesco Rea, Prof. Giulio Sandini; Tutors affiliation: CONTACT (https://contact.iit.it/) & RBCS (https://rbcs.iit.it/).
Description: This project is part of the Brain and Machines IIT Flagship (https://www.iit.it/en/web/guest/our-research) and stems from the iCog open source initiative started at IIT (www.icog.eu) with the goal of advancing our knowledge of human cognition by designing, building, and sharing a common cognitive architecture for an embodied artificial system such as iCub.
The goal of this project is to model and implement the computational processes of memory and experience building in a cognitive framework supporting human-robot interaction (HRI). This work will focus on the recall of long-term memory in interaction-based learning processes and on the autonomous adaptation to the human partner's memory during interactive tasks.
Contacts: Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the perspective tutors before they submit their application: alessandra.sciutti at iit.it, francesco.rea at iit.it, giulio.sandini at iit.it
2) Adaptation in Cognitive Architectures for Human Robot Interaction; Tutors: Dr. Alessandra Sciutti, Dr. Francesco Rea, Prof. Giulio Sandini; Tutors affiliation: CONTACT (https://contact.iit.it/) & RBCS (https://rbcs.iit.it/ )
Description: In our everyday lives, we routinely engage in complex, adaptive, and personalized interactions with our peers. In natural (biological) cognitive agents, adaptation is a fundamental ability, evident both at the behavioral and physiological levels. The candidate will investigate how adaptation manifests in humans and will work on the design and implementation of adaptation mechanisms in a cognitive framework for social robots. This project is part of the Brain and Machines IIT Flagship (https://www.iit.it/en/web/guest/our-research) and stems from the iCog open source initiative started at IIT (www.icog.eu) with the goal of advancing our knowledge of human cognition by designing, building, and sharing a common cognitive architecture for an embodied artificial system such as iCub.
Contacts: Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the perspective tutors before they submit their application: alessandra.sciutti at iit.it, francesco.rea at iit.it, giulio.sandini at iit.it<mailto:giulio.sandini at iit.it>
3) A robot with style: implementing new robotic actions to promote humanrobot interactions; Tutors: Dr. Giuseppe Di Cesare, Dr. Francesco Rea, Dr. Alessandra Sciutti; Tutors affiliation: CONTACT (https://contact.iit.it/)
Description: During social interactions, observing others' actions enables us to infer their underlying attitudes and affective states. Humans naturally perform actions with varying forms-such as gentle, enthusiastic, annoyed, or rude reflecting their internal mood.
The successful candidate will be involved in the following research activities: 1) contributing to the generation of expressive actions in the iCub robot based on distinct kinematic patterns; 2) designing and implementing novel Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) tasks; 3) analysing human kinematic data to guide the generation of robotic actions; 4) sharing responsibility, together with the supervisor, for managing the iCub robot in Parma.
Contacts: Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the perspective tutors before they submit their application: giuseppe.dicesare at unipr.it , francesco.rea at iit.it, alessandra.sciutti at iit.it<mailto:alessandra.sciutti at iit.it>
4) Lifelong Sensorimotor Health: Assessing and Rehabilitating Manipulation Skills with Haptic Devices; Tutors: Dr. Alessandra Sciutti, Dr. Dario Pasquali, Prof. Giulio Sandini Tutors affiliation: CONTACT (https://contact.iit.it/) & RBCS (https://rbcs.iit.it/ )
Description: The ability to manipulate objects is a fundamental aspect of human interaction with the environment, engaging cognitive and sensorimotor systems across the lifespan. This PhD project is part of the Technologies for Healthy Living IIT Flagship (https://www.iit.it/our-research) and the ERC Proof of Concept project ARIEL (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101189387). The candidate will work with custom sensing technologies such as myCube, a sensorized object developed within ARIEL to quantitatively assess manipulation skills, along with commercial eye-tracking devices (e.g., Tobii, Pupil Labs) and custom Deep Learning models. The goal is to assess and support the assessment of development or recovery of cognitive and sensorimotor functions in children, adults, and elderly individuals.
Contacts: Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the perspective tutors before they submit their application: alessandra.sciutti at iit.it, dario.pasquali at iit.it, giulio.sandini at iit.it


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